July 13, 2014
Dear Members of the City Council,
Definition: An Initiative...
allows the
people to bypass the legislators and propose a new statute, ordinance, or
constitutional amendment to be placed on the ballot for popular vote of its
adoption.
In this case:
”Who Are The People?” We are residents of Menlo Park who care about the vision
for our community put forth in the Downtown Specific Plan. We gathered to
discuss and organize the initiative on behalf of our citizens from a
variety of neighborhoods. We are from across the city: Sharon Heights,
Belle Haven, Downtown, Linnfield Oaks, The Willows, West Menlo, Allied Arts and
other neighborhoods.
The
Initiative was and is an exercise in democracy because we saw our City Council,
in reviewing the Specific Plan, did not listen carefully and with understanding
to the people who will be impacted by vast business development. We, the
members of Save Menlo and other citizens, felt closed out of the community
participation in this review—for example, a series of meetings we expected to
have with the Planning Commission. To all appearances, you overlooked our town
in favor of developers who have a different kind of investment than the people
who live here and want to continue feeling pride in their city based on its
livability.
Now, you have
the opportunity to accept the terms of the Initiative and in doing so,
integrate the information coming out of the Independent Consultants Ballot Measure
Impact Analysis. Would you please join us in this effort? Your thoughtful
consideration and positive decision will be well remembered.
Sincerely,
Lynore Banchoff
Morey Dr.
Downtown Menlo Park
Received on Mon Jul 14 2014 - 10:54:18 PDT